"It is an accolade that has come completely out of the blue," confirmed McNish. "Over 70 drivers, including all of the legendary names from the past 10 years of sportscar racing, were eligible and I'm honoured to have been chosen by the fans - especially as I've only completed three full seasons in the ALMS and just two races this year."

McNish added to his legacy with a sterling showing at the Petit Le Mans race (4th October 2008) by making up two laps in the first two hours and 45 minutes after crashing his Audi R10 TDI on the pre-race reconnaissance lap. Allan McNish went on to win the 1,000-mile race with Dindo Capello and Emanuele Pirro by 4.512 seconds.

Meanwhile Allan McNish has been awarded Audi Driver magazine's "Audi Personality of the Year" for a third consecutive year and receives the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC) ACO Award in London on 8th December 2008 - for the highest-placed British driver in the Le Mans 24 Hours - a race (14th and 15th June 2008) he won for the second time in his career this year.

Additionally Allan McNish, President of the Scottish Motor Racing Club and an Ambassador for the Motor Sports Association's Go Motorsport campaign, plus regular co-driver Dindo Capello, also collect the BRDC's Silverstone/Le Mans Challenge - awarded to the driver(s) who achieved the highest combined finishing record in the combined results of the Silverstone LMS race and the Le Mans 24 hour race. Allan McNish and Dindo Capello also steered their Audi R10 TDI to victory in the Autosport 1,000km of Silverstone (14th September 2008).